Over the past several years, the number of individual toothache trees in the arboretum has steadily increased. The mature tree at the southwest corner of Mickle Hall continues to produce an abundance of fruit, and little volunteers continue to pop up each year. We have allowed the young trees to continue growing, even in locations that are unsuitable in the long-term. For instance, despite there being no future in the aboretum for a volunteer growing next to the trunk of a large mature tree, their leaves can provide food for a very interesting caterpillar.
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Giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) caterpillars have recently been spotted nibbling away on the leaves of a 4-year-old toothache tree (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis). Two caterpillars are captured in this photo. Do you see them?
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Here we have another caterpillar, stuck to the spiny, slender trunk of the toothache tree.
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They are funny looking creatures. You may even find their heterogenous and mottled appearance disgusting. They are camouflaged to resemble bird droppings! What wonderful diversity occurs in the natural world. And these critters are certainly thorough in their work of stripping the toothache tree of its foliage.
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Rather than allowing the horde of caterpillars to defoliate a single tree, we remove a few individuals and place them on the volunteer toothache trees. As noted above, those trees that haven't been added to the catalogue because, based on their current location, they do not have a future in the arboretum.
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| We certainly want to make sure the caterpillars are well-fed--they turn into such lovely butterflies! Can you think of a better candidate for the "ugly duckling" of butterflies? |
